77 Shadow Street : Book Review

4/5 Stars

77 Shadow Street
By Dean Koontz
Bantam (December 27th, 2011)

Genre: Horror, Sci-fi, Paranormal

It was odd reading this book, I'm not saying this as the content was odd or that there was something wrong with it, but that it had been so long that I'd read a book of this genre that that itself was odd.  It had been probably at least 6 months since I read one of his books (aside from picking up Lightning again to read it), and the last couple hadn't really been that scary more like a suspense than an actual horror.  It doesn't help either that most of the book I've been reading, while super natural aren't really scary or unnerving.  So I was a bit unprepared for this book.  When I first started to read 77 Shadow Street it was so creepy that I didn't even want to read it at night before I went to bed, I was afraid of having nightmares (sadly this happens often when I watch or read really scary stuff).  This is definitely one of his more chilling especially compared to what he's written lately. The story focuses multiple main characters from a soldier to a scientist, a song writer to a hitman, all destined for something terrible to happen.

Synopsis:

The Pentleton, an upscale apartment building that had been converted from a famous mansion, houses something dark and deadly, something that its about to unleash on its unsuspecting inhabitants.  Strange things begin to occur, things that can't be explained or comprehended.  A flicker here, a flicker there, the residents notice disturbing glimpses of alternate worlds, strange creatures, people that seem to be from a different era appear then disappear, and even the city disappears in a flash of lightning.  Something's not right.  But before the renters have a chance to understand what's happening, their world shifts and they're no longer in the Pentleton they live in, instead it has mutated in a landscape of nightmares.  Now they must band together or let this strange world devour them one by one.  77 Shadow Street is no longer their home but a homage to a future beyond disaster.

My Opinion:

It was refreshing to read such a scary novel by Koontz again, though most of his books follow human killers and sometimes mutated ones, few actually follow the theme of 'things that go bump in the night'.  This book is sure to leave you wanting to read during the daytime.  The creature creations he describes are disturbing to the say the least and the atmosphere so chilling it'll make your hairs stand on end.  If you're looking for something genuinely creepy this book will do it.  While it is not my favourite, it still had a very interesting concept, was of course wonderfully written, and had a shout out to Golden Retrievers at some point which is to be expected.  I would definitely recommend this book for others to read if this is a genre they enjoy, and as always I can't wait to see what he releases next!

His next book is scheduled to be released next month and it is the fifth in the Odd Thomas Series. I have yet to actually read this series, my sister read the first two and said it wasn't his best, but the series keeps on going. Makes me think if I should give it a go at some point. Possibly after I'm done reading the Frankenstein Series.